Deirdre sets down her cup of the local brew and then bangs the gavel. “I call to order this meeting of the Council of the Stepdaughters of Chiron on the topic of an alliance with Data Haven,” she formally announces to everyone present. That includes the other council members, various support staff, Cleve and me, even a stenographer. No journalists or public, though. This is considered too sensitive a topic for that.
Deirdre invites Xiao, the closest they have to a military person, to review the known facts of the conflict with Morgan Industries. He covers the intelligence Cleve has shared—and Xiao does credit Datajack Prime with providing it—but also other details of actions at sea and disputes about fishing rights. He frequently references a large map with marks showing conflicts and an intimidating arrow indicative of Morgan’s Planetary Security Force headed this way. Cleve watches with great interest; this is right up his alley.
When Xiao sits back down, Deirdre addresses the council. “I think we’re in agreement that we need this alliance. What we’re here to discuss is what the exact terms of that alliance are.” There’s a lot of nodding. Clearly there’ve been some completely private council sessions in the past few days. “I also want to officially apologize on behalf of the government of the Stepdaughters of Chiron for the… tremendous insult and grave injuries that were committed upon Mariah Thorne. Giving him restitution for that is going to be part of this.” There are some glances around the council table at that declaration. “The exact nature of that is open for discussion. But for now I’d like to open the floor to Datajack Prime. If you could please lay out the specific things you are looking for and what—in addition to the intel you have already provided—you are willing to offer. We want to give you a chance to go first.”
Cleve starts talking, but rather than leap straight into negotiations, he first fills in the gaps he found in Xiao’s presentation. Then he says, “I’d like to nail down what exactly the Stepdaughter’s plan of attack for dealing with Morgan is. Data Haven is only the front at that one point. If they get past us, well, you’re the ultimate goal, obviously. Morgan doesn’t even know we’re there—yet.”
With that stated, he continues, “Now, obviously we’re open to more than just this, but what we can offer our allies is primarily that we are good at technology and intelligence gathering. What we’re looking for in exchange is food—food advancement, food variety. Not that we just want you to send us food, but to also share your farming know-how. We’re very interested in sustainability and variety.” That gets a lot of nods, those being values many Stepdaughters share.
“Also, as you may not know, our numbers are very small and our area is as well. We’re basically holed up in part of the wreckage of the ship. So we’d like to figure out sustainable ways to expand. As part of that, it would be good for us to establish who’s responsible for which areas of land so that there aren’t misunderstandings about who’s doing what.”
Cleve pauses, glancing down at his notebook, and into the silence I gently prompt, “And also the possibility of immigration.”
“Yes, uh, yes,” Cleve agrees. His presentation is a little rough, more direct than smooth, but that doesn’t seem to be putting off any of the council members we’ve just met. “Also, we’re the first place you can approach if you’re banished from Morgan Industries.” There are a few audible gasps from the support staff at the mention of that kind of punishment. “We’re interested in continuing our role of being a sanctuary for the people who have been exiled.” With a little chuckle he mutters, “That’s basically how we increase our numbers, I guess.”
Thinking of Shilp, I add, “But also, some of those people would want more stability than Data Haven can offer and are interested in knowing whether the Garden of Chiron is a place they could relocate to.” Essentially, there are potential immigrants in all directions here, from the domes to Data Haven, from Data Haven to here, and vice versa. Open immigration is a popular idea among Cleve’s audience. To the Stepdaughters, Data Haven sounds like a cramped, dismal place that many people would want to get out of, and there is certainly space for them here.
“Look, I’m not sure what the future holds for Data Haven,” Cleve says bluntly. “If it’s going to continue on as a pocket for technically minded folks, or if it wants to grow into a bigger society…” He shrugs. “But right now, that’s where we are and what we have to offer. And also, that we occupy the land between you and the Morgan domes.”
One of the councilors we haven’t met before speaks up. “Now, we’re talking about an alliance today, and I wholeheartedly support that. As you mention the large disparity in size, though… Somewhere down the line, do you think Data Haven would like to petition to join the Stepdaughters of Chiron as an official city/outpost/garden?”
“I’m not going to rule that out, but I would definitely like to talk to my council before committing to anything like that,” Cleve says.
“Certainly we’d want to see a copy of your constitution first,” I say. It’s Cleve’s show, not mine, but I can still help out here and there. He’s juggling a lot of topics and can’t be expected to remember everything. Though that notebook of his is certainly helping.
“Well, of course! Our constitution is available for all to see.”
“And whatever agreements your outlying settlements have,” I add. “Have you already folded in separate settlements? Or were all the outlying settlements spun out of here?”
“Aside from some very early rescues in the first few years, they’ve entirely been built from our local population,” Xiao inserts. “We can certainly show you the charters that our outlying islands have put together. They exercise more autonomy out of necessity, due to their situation.”
“Yeah, that sounds very applicable here,” I tell him. “Not that the Monsoon Jungle is an ocean, but it’s definitely an impediment to swift communication.” Since Cleve and I are both recent arrivals to Data Haven, there’s one more piece of information I’d like before this discussion goes any further, as I feel the other side has more context here than we do. And that is… how did Data Haven and the Stepdaughters of Chiron meet to begin with?
When I pose my question, Cleve echoes it. “Yeah, how did you find us in our little subterranean enclave?”
“One of our rangers came across your entrance gate device,” Deirdre says. “Your elevator, I think they described it as. At the time, they did not understand what it was and got a very… rude welcome, I will say. But thankfully, the situation was able to deescalate once they learned we were not from Morgan territory.” That initial contact happened close to two years ago, and exchanging information beyond that point went slowly, given the space and dangers between. It was only about half a year past that they sent Dr. Citali and some assistants to form a closer bond.
The council is onboard with everything Cleve has mentioned. They are happy to send agricultural advisors to help Data Haven start up its own farming. Dr. Citali’s medical work will continue, as well, and they’ll send back a copy of the Encyclopedia of Chiron with her. They’re grateful for the intelligence Cleve has already shared and want that to be a two way street, keeping Data Haven apprised of what’s happening on the outlying islands, for example. After all, the weather patterns out there can affect Data Haven, even though it’s inland. The Stepdaughters do have people who are good at salvage, but they think there’s a lot they could learn from Data Haven in that regard as well since the experience is far fresher there. And they offer to help set up a miasma dispersion windmill system. For as long as Data Haven wants to remain hidden, that would have to be something small and portable, but if the day comes that the settlement is no longer so secretive, taller structures could dot the landscape.
“And there will be formal government oversight of the rangers,” Deirdre announces. “We don’t know exactly what that will look like yet, but they will be part of the government here and have to answer to us.”
“What about sending a ranger as an advisor?” Cleve asks.
“If you’re comfortable with that,” Deirdre says, “we’d like to station one at our embassy at Data Haven. That’s separate from the platoon we’ll send to deal with the war effort.”
Cleve looks ready to agree but then pauses and looks to me. I nod my assent. Even though the rangers may act “all as one” I don’t bear the group as a whole any ill will for what a retiree did or some minor theft by a solitary actor. Besides, Chloe’s practically a ranger already.